For US, India sole option for UNSC seat: Pakistani daily

Islamabad, Sep 25 (IANS) India is the only option from Asia, especially in the eyes of the US, for permanent membership at the UN Security Council “no matter how unfortunate this is for Pakistan”, a Pakistani daily said on Friday.

Describing the US and India as the new dynamic duo, an editorial in The Nation said they are “a terrifying combination”.

The US has reaffirmed its support to India for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC). Even though both countries have disagreed over the UN Security Council reforms, the US has made it clear that it is committed to India’s inclusion as a permanent member of the Security Council.

“A number of members, including permanent members, have voiced strong disagreements. Pakistan, a member of the Uniting for Consensus group of countries which opposes any additional permanent members on the Security Council, told the 193-member Assembly that the document was partial and incomplete. It could not be the basis for a negotiated solution,” it said.

With the successful conduct of the maiden strategic and commercial dialogue between India and the US, the stage is set for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third summit with President Barack Obama on September 28.

“The United States also reiterated its support for India’s membership in four major global non-proliferation export control regimes, including the Nuclear Suppliers Group,” said the daily.

“Pakistan should be worried.”

“Their joint declaration has identified terrorism as a profound threat to global peace and security…They have pointed out ‘the threat posed by entities such as Al Qaeda and its affiliates, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, D Company, and the Haqqani Network, and other regional groups that seek to undermine stability in South Asia’,” the editorial noted.

It went on to say that India now has a powerful ally, and “reason to remind us to provide justice for whatever wrong they think we have committed”.

“Both countries have already jointly urged Pakistan to ‘bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack’. Modi won’t stop at this.”

The editorial said that China and Russia, as permanent members, can and probably will provide balance to the US and Indian ambition.

“However, for the global community, better representation is why the UNSC permanent membership needed to be expanded in the first place. Asia has two permanent member countries; hardly representative of the gigantic continent. South America has none. Europe has two, and Germany has been gearing up for its own bid for a seat. If Europe and South America get better representation, it makes sense that Asia will too.”

“India is the only option then, especially in the eyes of the US, no matter how unfortunate this is for Pakistan,” it added.